This invention pertains to a combination of inspection plate and safety step.
Conventional step rungs or ladders were attached to an outer surface of a vehicle or other structure fixed to the ground in an outwardly protruding configuration, thus being subject to breakage from impact. Ladders tended to provide too little toe room for an operator when mounted on the outside of a vehicle side panel, for example, and not of desirable protection for adjacent machine components. Step rungs also provide undesirable support to a man's foot. Both types were subject to slipperyness when exposed to the elements.
Further, the location of step rungs and ladders necessarily avoided the areas of normal machine inspection plates and maintenance points, owing to the problems of inaccessability and waste of time in disassemblying the ladders to gain inspection access.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above.
According to the present invention, a composite inspection plate-step has a first member and at least one step member. The first member has a middle portion and inner and outer surfaces. The first member has at least one opening of a preselected configuration through the middle portion and is defined by a lower edge.
The step member has first and second portions and is of generally "J" configuration. The first portion extends substantially completely across and a preselected distance through the opening in the first member. The first portion is fixedly connected to and oriented generally normal to the lower edge of the opening. The first portion of the step member is generally horizontal in the installed position of the first member. The second end portion is fixedly connected to the outer surface of the first member.